Josh Rouse

Singer/songwriter Josh Rouse composes warm, classic folk-pop that conjures ’70s AM radio stations and cozy nights by the campfire. Born in Nebraska in 1972, he moved around quite a bit before settling in Nashville and recording his 1998 debut album, Dressed Up Like Nebraska. Rouse subsequently collaborated with Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner on 1999’s Chester EP but returned to solo work and broke through four years later with the inviting soft-rock triumph 1972. His nomadic nature resurfaced in his songwriting on 2005’s Nashville (and its dreamy acoustic-rock highlight “Carolina”) and 2007’s folk-leaning She’s Spanish, I’m American EP with his now-wife Paz Suay. (The title was truth in advertising; in fact, Rouse moved to Spain to be with Suay and currently still lives there on and off.) However, no matter where Rouse travels, his songwriting muse goes with him—as evidenced by 2022’s typically well-curated Going Places and the twangy single “Janine.”